Unravelled
by bhut
Summary: Post P:NW S1 finale. Mac's death was the final straw for Ange, and she's on a warpath - yet that is only the beginning of the CP team's new problems. Back in London, meanwhile, Connor Temple got problems of his own...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to Impossible Pictures™._

_Note: spoilers for the original series._

Vancouver, British Columbia (modern times)

The time anomaly snapped shut without any sound, and the two time travellers found themselves on the right side of it, at least at the first glance, as the abandoned warehouse remained the same, and the soldier in the uniform remained the same. "You okay, sir?" he asked Evan (and Dylan) with some concern in his voice.

"Yes," Evan curtly replied as he got up and helped Dylan get onto her feet as well.

"And where's your companion?" the soldier decided to press his luck by asking another question.

"That," Evan began but did not finish, as with a clicking of footwear, Angelika Finch emerged from behind the soldier.

"Evan," she said in a vocal tone that was different from the ones that Dylan had heard in their earlier interactions, "we need to talk."

"Ange, not now," Evan warily replied – he too realized that something was not right here and it was not directly related to the time anomalies for a change, but Angelika did not listen.

"Evan," she looked upwards to look straight into the eyes of the taller person. "Earlier I had an enlightening talk with your bearded friend with the British accent."

"Ange," Evan began to move slightly backwards – probably to get himself more room for manoeuvring; "would you believe me if I told you that I've seen that bloke for the second time in my life myself?"

"That makes the two of us," Ange smiled, and that smile was nasty. "I've probably met him just as you did, six months ago; only I thought that he was an Internet repairman."

"Your point?" Dylan carefully asked.

"My point," Ange ignored the other woman and continued to look at Evan, "is that all of this hoopla, all of your rules, all of your protocol, Evan Cross, has been apparently based on advice of perfect stranger, whom you've met before just once in your life. Do you remember, Evan, what happens when you follow others? You get suspended and made into a prop by Reza, and Felix, and your other so-called friends from school – remember them?"

"This is different," Evan muttered, his face pale.

"Is it?" Angelika spat out the words. "Whenever you try to follow yourself, your own dreams, Evan Cross, you actually make yourself into someone, into a man; when you follow others; you become once more the weak-willed, easily impressionable boy that thought that to throw _things_ at me and Brooke-"

"Leave Brooke out of this-"

"No. I will not. You started this whole train wreck of a mess supposedly because of her, yet even in your grief you had to follow a person you have never seen before in your life. Evan Cross, you are inconsistent and weak and obstinate. You don't want to follow Hall's lead, but you followed a perfect stranger's? That is not leadership, Evan, and you know it."

"Um, can we have this talk somewhere else?" Dylan said timidly: Ange was flushed with anger while Evan was pale from some other emotion, and both were sweating for other reasons than this being a windless and hot summer day. "Please?"

"I second that," Lt. Ken Leeds appeared from behind Ange and the other two soldiers. "Colonel Hall is still alive but has been hospitalized and we need to go back to brief Ms. Nance – where's Mr. Randall?"

Silence fell and later Dylan would swear that she almost heard something teetering on an edge of a crash – right before she opened her mouth and made it worse. "He's gone," she said hollowly.

Angelika shifted around and looked Dylan right in the eye. Now, Dylan was a hothead, and the Weir family was a family of hotheads, so Dylan was used to people being angry with her – or so she thought. The cold fury, possibly mixed with disdain, which radiated from the shorter woman's eyes, was something else.

"How did it happen?" Angelika said, and though Dylan wanted to give her an edited version of the events, what she said was something else.

"Mac...Mac had already gone back in time – sort of. An alternate version of him has come through a time anomaly six years ago and saved Evan from the _Albertosaurus_, dying in the process. Now, because it was predestinate or something like that, he did the same thing to save the entire time continuum-"

"Did Evan tell you this? Did his British friend tell you this?"

"No, Evan figured it out himself."

"No," Evan whispered quietly. "This man – I think his name was Kieran or Connor – he told me that when we first met...just in not so many words..." he trailed off.

"Ms Weir and gentlemen, I give you Evan Cross," Angelika Finch said bitterly. "He had a half-baked idea of his own, mixed it with some advice of a man who only cared about his own family life and would do anything to accomplish this goal, screwing anyone else in the process, and to top it off, Evan Cross wouldn't even someone professional be in charge, like Ms. Weir, for example-"

"That's unfair, I specialize in modern animals, not prehistoric-"

"And Evan doesn't do even that – by his standards, you're more than adequate." Angelika shifted back to Evan. "Evan Cross, we're through. When you married Brooke, and when Brooke later died, you swore to me that you will be a better man from now on. You lied, and you know what? We are through. Do whatever you want, whatever you please. I'm done."

Angelika turned around, and then she paused. "One more thing," she turned back around. "Ms. Weir, contrary to what Evan here thinks, this isn't ancient Greece or Mesopotamia or Rome, or wherever where people believed that their lives and fates were determined before their births. We make our own lives, our own destinies, and the space-time continuum can go fuck itself, just as all of those smug, know-it-all Brits!" With that parting shot she turned around and walked away, leaving behind her a very loud silence.

"So, um, thank you for saving me from the dinosaur," Ken Leeds said weakly, "and, uh, are _we_ going to be fighting now?"

"Er," Dylan looked at Evan. The latter was just standing there, looking blank. "No. Can you get us to Toby instead, though? We need to tell her about Mac and all." She paused and added. "Please?"

"Certainly," Ken Leeds nodded, before glancing at Evan himself. "Er, Mr. Cross appears to have gone into shock."

Both Dylan and Leeds looked at the taller man, who just stood there, staring blankly at nothing particular. "You know, you're right," Dylan said softly. "But still, can you get us to Toby?"

"Certainly."

_TBC_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to Impossible Pictures™._

_Note: spoilers for the original series._

Vancouver, British Columbia (modern times)

The walk back to the military helicopter was almost normal, and that just made it worse. It was so easy to imagine Evan being his regular self rather than this silent shell and Mac walking besides them, cracking jokes or sarcastic comments.

"That's where it went wrong," Dylan muttered quietly. "We were so focused on doing the big, heroic thing that we forgot about smaller, regular, human-sized details – we forgot about people being people, not just characters in the grand drama of the time anomaly theater."

"True, this is rather like Saruman in Lord of the Rings," Lt. Leeds apparently did hear Dylan, though she was quite quiet. "He was so focused on his grand scheme, that he forgot about Treebeard and his Ents-"

"Lieutenant Leeds-"

"Please, call me Ken, Ms. Weir-"

"That wasn't me-"

"Oh." Both Leeds and Dylan stopped as they realized that the finally reached the helicopter with their brisk walk and that Angelika Finch was looking at them...without any sign of the cold fury in her eyes. Rather, she seemed to be looking about as bad as either of them felt, and that was saying something. "Ms. Finch, um-"

"Please. Are you coming to see Toby too?" Angelika softly interrupted the lieutenant, sounding more like her old, per-confrontation self.

"Yes please," Dylan said quickly.

"Also Mr. Cross has medical problems of his own," Leeds added even quicker, "that have to be treated."

"_Mr. Cross_ has had mental problems for a long time," Angelika said bitterly, "and yes, it's about time that he had them treated." She paused. "I don't want to fight with either of you, really, so could we keep peace until we get to Toby? The last friend I argued with was Mac, and now he's _gone_..." She began weep quietly, looking like a complete opposite to her behaviour in the abandoned building and Dylan quickly realized that if she did not do something, she would break down as well.

"Sure!" she said briskly. "Lieutenant-"

"Please, call me Ken-"

"Help Evan into the helicopter – I'll help Ms. Finch."

"Got it," Leeds said quickly and grabbed Evan before beginning to move him forwards. Sadly, Angelika proved to be something of an obstacle, as she did not move out of their path in time. Instead, Leeds found himself face to face with Ange as she just stood there, clearing ignoring her surroundings for a change.

Thinking quickly, Dylan grabbed Ange and turned her around (the other woman did not protest or resist at all), before leading her up the helicopter instead. With that obstacle gone, Leeds was able to get Evan into the helicopter quickly enough as well.

And then they were off, flying into the air back to project Magnet's HQ.

/

After about three or five minutes of crying quietly, Angelika Finch was able to collect herself, apparently, and so she stopped. Instead, she just sat there, looking into a window and keeping quiet.

Evan, for his part, also kept quiet – and also just stared at either nothing in particular or at something that only he could see. After five or six minutes of that (plus some heavy breathing) Dylan realized that she couldn't endure this sort of silence for much longer and turned to Ken Leeds instead.

"So, you have files on all of us at Cross Photonics, right?" she asked the military man.

"Yes; well, not all of you, and they're far from full," the latter admitted, reluctantly.

"Any idea what they were going on back at the ex-time anomaly site?"

"Um, I'm not comfortable discussing this behind their backs-"

"Both of them are _right here_, and honestly any sort of a reaction from either of them would probably be healthy – healthier than this silence right now. So?"

Ken Leeds thought this over more thoroughly than most people would. "I'm not sure," he finally confessed. "This sounded like something beyond the time anomalies, when they were young – younger than their current age. That is currently beyond the age bracket when they came to the attention of my superiors and me, so I cannot really tell you anything. Maybe Ms. Nance can?"

"Maybe," Dylan reluctantly agreed. She paused, listened to the returned silence for another minute or two, and decided to confront the downsized elephant in the helicopter. "I'm guessing that you did tell colonel Hall about the time anomaly junction even though we told you not to?"

"No, I did, even though he suggested that it may not be such a good idea," Angelika spoke up. "Please don't be angry with him."

Dylan managed to suppress the outcry of "she speaks!" into Ange's face – it was probably not a good idea.

"Yes, well,"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to Impossible Pictures™._

_Note: spoilers for the original series._

Vancouver, British Columbia (modern times)

As they walked down one of the corridors of project Magnet, Ange abruptly stopped. "No, this won't do," she said and turned to face Dylan, who was behind them. "How's Evan?"

Dylan gave her a look. "The same as when we have left, Ange."

"Ah. Lieutenant-"

"Please, call me Ken-"

"Ken, as Dylan has said earlier, her companion needs some help from a psychologist or someone like that. Where can she find one?"

"Oh. Um, we have one on board, but getting to her office is a bit tricky."

"Toby will be in the medical bay, right?"

"In the adjoining vestibule – she's healthy enough to get off the sick bed..." Leeds paused. "This probably sounded wrong. I mean your friend was recovering nicely last time I heard from the medical staff, while colonel Hall needs urgent help. Thus, he gets priority. That is not to say that your friend, Toby, has been abandoned, but she's most likely to be found in the bay's vestibule than in the medical bay problem-"

"You're rumbling," Angelika half-twisted the military man so that he faced her. "Please, don't. Dylan has not been in this building for too long and could really use a guide. I, true, was not been here that long either, but most of the time I spent here was at the medical bay, so I know where it is. So, I do not need a guide while Dylan does. Do you follow me?"

"Right. Yes. Of course. Ms. Weir – Dylan – this way," Ken Leeds, reluctantly, released Angelika's hand and led the way. Dylan, still leading Evan, followed.

/

As a matter of fact, Ange did meet Toby outside of the medical bay, sitting in a wheelchair, dressed in a hospital uniform (though with a blanket or two for warmth – the day outside may've been hot and windless, but the insides of the building of project Magnet were quite air conditioned and cool), and looking relatively well recovered.

"Hi. How are you doing?" Ange tentatively asked the other woman.

"Better than before," Toby said with a reassuring grin. "Ange, what has happened? One moment I was lying in bed, the next there's a flurry of activity."

"In short? The colonel got slammed by a dinosaur against a van and needed to be hospitalized immediately."

"...Okay, and where was everyone else?"

"In the middle of action, luring the dinosaur back into the time anomaly."

"So it is gone?"

"Yes."

Toby paused, looking askance at the soldiers present: their expressions were blank, they clearly were tuning her and Ange out, and so she decided to go for the direct approach.

"So, what is wrong? You look like someone has died... people have died, right?"

"Yes," Ange nodded, hollowly. "Look, Toby... I am just happy that _you are _alive, and I do not want to talk about today, period. Dylan will come over later and tell you in a better detail..."

Toby thought this over. "No. When I last saw you, you were all fussing and agitating and whatnot, as you usually are-"

"Excuse me?"

"Ange, you're at your happiest when you're managing someone or something, like Cross Photonics or us. Right now, however, you are not managing anyone or anything, and are distinctly unhappy. What has happened?"

"Well, you said it yourself – people died. Isn't this cause enough for unhappiness?"

Toby thought this over as well. "Yes, but something else is wrong. You are not trying to persuade me that Evan's way is wrong as you did before-"

"Because f*ck him. I do not care what he does anymore. You want to follow him? Fine. I have not given up on you yet, but I no longer consider Evan Cross a significant enough cause to be fighting about," Ange snapped.

There was a pause as Toby wheeled herself closer to the older woman. "You're not lying, are you?" She paused and answered her own question. "No, of course you're not. Um, well, I know that I am asking for trouble but why? What has changed?"

"Toby?" Dylan (followed by Ken Leeds) appeared on the scene. "Can we talk?"

/

Dylan was not in a good mood. The psychiatrist woman at project Magnus appeared to be perfectly decent – somewhat older than Ange, dressed nowhere as smartly, walking with a slight limp – but somehow there was something that made Dylan want to grab Evan, pee around him in a possessive circle, and tell that other woman: "Mine, mine, mine!" Still, she did not do that, and currently found herself in the vestibule to project Magnet's medical bay, hearing Toby just say to Ange: "You're not lying, are you? No, of course you're not. Um, well, I know that I am asking for trouble but why? What has changed?"

"Toby?" Dylan opened the door. "Can we talk?"

"Dylan!" Toby rotated to face the blonde. "Hi. What has happened? Who has died?"

"Mr. Rendell," Leeds replied before Dylan could say this more diplomatically.

Toby froze. "That's a joke, right? A really, really, really retarded joke, correct?"

"No," Dylan and Ken sat down next to Toby and Ange. "Toby... Mac had to go to the past to save Evan from the dinosaur-"

"-the one that killed him in the original time line," Toby said bitterly.

"I'm sorry?" Ken Leeds quailed at Toby's glare, but after seeing Angelika Finch's cold fury this was quite endurable. "Can you clarify this a little, please?"

"Why? So that you'll tell it to Ange-"

"No, I am right here," the shorter woman said firmly. "Toby, please?"

Toby looked at Dylan. "It's your call," the blonde said firmly.

"Fine," Toby said, somewhat petulantly. "When that dinosaur came through a time anomaly and killed Brooke, Mac also made an appearance. He was working for some organization called the Arc, and he died, saving Evan. Evan, in turn, sought out Mac and brought him here – you remember that, Ange?"

"Yes."

"Anyways, Evan has also kept the corpse of the original Mac down in the freezer, where we keep – kept - the dead dinosaurs. When you quit Cross Photonics, Mac discovered his alternate self and that cause issues."

"He came back, though," Dylan objected.

"Yes, well, only because I agreed to help him discover what the Arc stood for."

"Connor and Kieran – they had similar jackets," Dylan said, thoughtfully.

"Who?"

"After Dylan brought us the sting, she went back to get Evan," Ange said thoughtfully. "They returned with two other men, one of whom had infiltrated Cross Photonics about six months ago – that was Connor, I believe." She paused and saw that the others were eying her very attentively. "At that time I assumed that he was an Internet repairman, so I let him go. Today, however, I recognized him, and when I asked for information and for help, he told me that it was him who gave Evan the idea of no-kill the prehistoric beasts and frankly refused to help the project, claiming that he had a wife and he didn't want to lose her. Realizing that he wouldn't be of any help, I let him go."

There was a pause as everyone thought this over. "You know, this isn't right," Toby said after a while, "Dylan and Evan _did_ help them out, those two could've helped out, somehow, even with Mac and all..." she trailed away. "And if Evan was their friend-"

"He wasn't. He barely knew just one of them from Adam," Ange said bitterly. "It didn't stop him from following their advice, though. But then, he was always like that..."

"Oh?" Lt. Leeds spoke when it became obvious that Ange was not going to say anything else. "Please go on?"

"No. Evan and I are done and gone. Maybe later you can ask him – Evan is honest, for all of his flaws."

"Fair enough," Toby nodded, thoughtful herself. "I think that we do need to have a discussion with Evan, if not a confrontation. After the time he almost blew up the Cross Photonics, we never really recovered as a team, but began to split into fractions – I will not say that Mac died because of it, but Evan owes Mac a debt-"

"Maybe we can throw Mr. Rendell a wake?" Ken Leeds said carefully.

"Maybe. I mean, we have already buried him two weeks ago or so – God, that sounds just wrong!" Toby rubbed her thigh and froze. "Er, you know, my leg is hurting again. I know that the doc gave me the antivenin and all, but could I have some sort of a check-up, just in case?"

"Sure!" Leeds (and the others) immediately jumped up. "Private! Please take Ms. Nance to Dr. Mira for a check-up!"

"Yes sir!"

As Toby was wheeled away (and judging from her grimace, her formerly stung leg really did hurt), another soldier entered the vestibule.

"Lt. Leeds, Ms. Finch?"

"Yes?" Leeds turned around, looking quite professional himself.

"Colonel Hall has recovered, sir."

"What's the status?"

"Several broken ribs?"

"Not the spine?"

"The ribs were broken near the spine, sir. I do not know the specifics, sir. You have to ask the doctor, sir-"

"What are the standing orders? Who is in charge?"

"As discussed per protocol, sir – I mean ma'am," the solider turned to Angelika Finch since it was she who asked the last two questions.

"That means that we have to go to be briefed," Leeds added as he turned to the co-ordinating director of project Magnet (i.e. Ange).

"Can I come with you?" Dylan asked, politely enough. "I promise I won't start any confrontations."

The other two looked at each other. "I suspect that Toby will be there for a while," Ange confessed, "and yes, this maybe a good idea. Come on, then."

And the trio left the vestibule as well.

_TBC_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to Impossible Pictures™._

_Note: spoilers for the original series._

Vancouver, British Columbia (modern times)

As they raced down one of the corridors of project Magnet, Dylan could not help but wonder as to what information she _did not_ know. Obviously, with the colonel out of commission (even if he did survive) his second-in-command was going to take over, right? And even if Leeds wasn't out of favor for the moment, it was still unlikely that it would be him – he was just too low in the military hierarchy for that, right?

And then they arrived at the office – well, actually, it was more like another vestibule than a proper office. It was practically empty, save for few men in military uniforms, one of whom Dylan remembered very well after the failed rescue of Leggy in the Thunderdome.

"Major," she said curtly.

The man just looked at her with some disdain. However, after seeing Angelika Finch's cold fury Dylan was not impressed in any way at his attempt, so she just sat down, deciding that as a civilian woman she had certain benefits, if not privileges in this situation.

Ange, meanwhile, looked at Dylan with some honest curiosity. "You've met before?" she asked the other woman.

"Yes. He was in charge of recapturing Leggy – that's the terror bird," Dylan paused. "Oh, right, you've quit Cross Photonics before that didn't you?"

"Yes," Ange nodded. "Anyways, that's how you met?"

"Yes. When did you meet?"

"He was passing me in one of the local corridors. He had military regalia on, so I figured that he was relatively high in the local organization that is all."

Dylan paused. "He's glaring at us," she told Ange.

The other woman just gave her a Look. Dylan shrugged, gave the major an apologetic glance, and kept quiet. Having apparently exhausted this topic, Ange fell quiet as well.

For several moments the room was quiet once again, and then the colonel was wheeled in.

/

London, England (modern times)

"We're here!" Connor Temple said brightly, as he and Kieran emerged from the time anomaly – just as it closed behind them. "And we got rid of the dinosaur."

"Glad to hear this," one of his other co-workers said brightly. "Got a text from the boss – he says that there's some sort of an urgent problem back at the home base-"

Connor's phone rang. "Wait a sec," he told the other man. "Got to answer this first – hello, honey!"

"And a good day to you too, sweetie," the woman on the other end of the line most definitely was not Mrs. Temple, though Connor had no problem identifying her. "Long time no hear, eh?"

Connor fell his blood grow cold. "You! Danny told us that you were dead! As a doornail!"

"He also thought that his brother was salvageable. Boy, was he wrong on both counts! That is beside the point, though. I'm back, Mr. Temple, and you better pray that our paths do – I owe you and your blonde friend a death and a life, so _be careful_. Bye!"

Connor's phone went dead.

"You okay, mate?" Kieran asked his team leader with concern.

"No," Connor shook his head, "but it can wait. Let's go back to the Center, shall we?"

/

Vancouver, British Columba (modern times)

Colonel Hall was clearly a good deal worse than Toby was: if Toby was largely out of bandages by now, and hopefully off the medical support, the colonel was not. Out of bandages, that it. There were no signs of medical support, though, but he did look pale and rather ill. That said, all of the military personnel straightened to attention when he was rolled in.

"At ease," the colonel said with a slight grimace. "Major – is the report for general McKnight is ready?"

"No sir, not yet sir!" the leader of Leggy's failed captors promptly replied.

"Roger. Once it's ready I want to look it over," the colonel replied, and then he noticed Dylan. "Ms. Weir, what are you doing here, and where are your cohorts?"

"Toby is recovering, Evan is also disposed, and Mac's... gone." Dylan's voice wavered, but she did not care. "That dinosaur ate him."

"I see," it was hard to tell anything from the colonel's vocal tone. "And Evan?"

Dylan hesitated, and Leeds stepped in.

"Sir, Mr. Cross and Ms. Finch had a confrontation while you were being hospitalized. It was largely personal and Mr. Cross didn't take it well."

"Hmm." The colonel looked the younger man straight in the eye. "Go on."

"Sir, remember the discussion 3 years ago, before my demotion? It was rather like that, only more personal, and rawer."

"Hmm." The colonel shifted his gaze to Angelika. "Do you want to add anything, Ms. Finch?"

"No, save that it wasn't really about the time anomalies or dinosaur – it was about us."

"I thought that there wasn't any 'you', Ms. Finch."

"And there isn't, sir. But sometimes that sort of thing isn't necessary for a personal confrontation."

"And where is Mr. Cross now?"

"With the project's psychologist, I believe."

"Good. That woman is smart," the colonel nodded before shifting back to Weir. "That doesn't quite explain what are you doing here, Ms. Weir?"

"I don't want to be cut of the loop, colonel," Dylan said firmly. "Mac is gone, both Toby and Evan are indisposed, and we've only began to mend bridges with Angelika, so I have to be here to know what is going on."

"Nothing in particular," the colonel shrugged. "Almost half of the ribs in my body were broken and had to be reattached. Even with the physical therapy and everything else, I will be out of commission for a long time. Under regular circumstances I would transfer my responsibilities and all with a minimal fuss, but here, in project Magnet, there are not any regular circumstances, so general McKnight has to arrive and to expect the situation personally – yes, sergeant?"

"The letter is ready, colonel, sir."

"Dismissed. Everyone is dismissed," the colonel shifted abruptly before pausing. "Ms. Weir does that mean that your people will be working for project Magnet now?"

"Colonel, have you thought that perhaps your project has acquired enough... samples to satisfy your scientists for now? Do you have to kill _every_ creature that comes through a time anomaly?" Dylan got up, ignoring everyone else.

"Good point," the colonel nodded calmly. "Plus with the current misbalanced situation in project Magnet the last thing we need is another snafu of a dinosaur-sized magnitude. Major, lieutenant, no more acquiring specimens, live or otherwise, until this situation is resolved and general McKnight gives green light. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed." And the colonel was rolled out of the vestibule.

For several moments everyone just stared at each other when Dylan's cell phone rang. "Yes?"

"Dylan, not that I'm ungrateful that Natalie is here, but how did she find out that I was here?"

"That was my doing, actually," Angelika spoke up. "I tried to contact any family that you have while you were sick, but there was only her phone number-"

"And for a good reason – I love my mother, but we haven't gotten along for a long time," Toby paused. "Um, could you get in here – slowly? Natalie and I have some things to sort through... bye for now..." she hanged up.

Almost unaware of it, Dylan could not help but to crack a smile: Toby, at least, was recovering, and colonel Hall appeared to be more cooperative than before. She did not know what it meant in the end, but right now, it looked like Evan's team was going to recover.

_End_


End file.
